Franklin Springs. GA – The Emmanuel Baseball team closed the regular season with a conference series against the top ranked, North Greenville University Trailblazers. The teams traded runs in game one, with the Trailblazers edging the Lions late, 12-10. North Greenville carried the momentum into game two, earning a 16-3 victory. In game three, the Lions celebrated their seniors and came out with energy, taking an early 5-0 lead. The Trailblazers tied the game in the 5
th inning and again in the top of the 9
th, but the Lions earned the 8-7 win in walk-off fashion on a single by
Stephen Clark.
GAME ONE
The Trailblazers struck first in game one, with a homerun in the top of the 1
st inning to take a 1-0 lead. The Lions responded well in the bottom half of the inning. After
Jaden Madrid reached 1
st on an error,
Davis Roesler singled to centerfield to advance Madrid to 3
rd.
Matt Layton followed that up with a double to left field to score Madrid, tying the game at 1-1.
Will Phipps kept the inning going with a two-out double to left center to score two runs, giving the Lions a 3-1 lead.
The Trailblazers answered in the top of the 2
nd, scoring 3 runs on 5 hits to take the lead, 4-3.
North Greenville tacked on a run to their lead in the top of the 3
rd, but
Miles Dodd came into relieve
Jacob Bodkin on the mound and sat the Trailblazers down with a strikeout and two pop ups, keeping the score 5-3, Trailblazers.
In the top of the 4
th, the Trailblazers added 2 runs to their lead to make it 7-3.
North Greenville made it 8-3 in the top of the 5
th, scoring a run on 3 hits.
The Lions got back to work in the bottom of the 6
th inning. Layton singled to start off the at-bat and
Tyler Bradford walked to advance Layton to 2
nd. A single by Phipps loaded the bases, and a single by
Chaz Encarnacion scored two runs to cut the Trailblazer's lead to 8-5.
The Trailblazers made it 10-5 in the top of the 7
th, scoring two runs on 3 hits.
In the top of the 8
th,
Hunter Maddox relieved
Miles Dodd giving up 2 runs on 2 hits to push the Trailblazers lead to 12-5. The Lions exploded for 5 runs in the bottom of the 8
th. With two outs, Phipps homered to left field to cut the North Greenville lead to 12-6. Encarnacion followed that up with a single, and after
Aiden Malish was hit by a pitch,
Haidyn McGill singled to load the bases.
Nick Madrigal took advantage of the opportunity, lacing a triple to right field to score three runs, cutting the North Greenville lead to 12-9. Roesler followed that up with a triple to right field to score
Austin Bourrie (pinch runner) to make it 12-10, Trailblazers which would be the final score.
At the plate,
Will Phipps went 3-5 with 3 RBIs and a run scored, while
Matt Layton went 3-5 with an RBI and 2 runs scored.
Chaz Encarnacion and
Haidyn McGill each picked up 2 hits in 4 at-bats.
On the mound,
Jacob Bodkin got the start going 2.0 innings. He gave up 5 runs on 8 hits. He walked 2 batters.
Miles Dodd relieved him to throw 5.0 innings. He gave up 5 runs on 7 hits, striking out 3 batters and walking 3.
Hunter Maddox relieved him to throw 2.0 innings. He gave up 2 runs on 2 hits and struck out 2 batters, walking one.
GAME TWO
The Trailblazers carried the momentum into game two, scoring a run on 3 hits in the 1
st inning to take a 1-0 lead.
The Lions responded well in the bottom of the 2
nd.
Tyler Bradford opened the at-bat off with a solo homerun to tie the game at 1-1.
Seth Ranta followed that up with a two-out triple to right center, scoring on a passed ball to give the Lions the 2-1 lead.
In the top of the 3
rd, the Trailblazers answered to take a 3-2 lead, scoring 2 runs on a hit. The Lions tied things up in the bottom half of the inning.
Jaden Madrid singled to start off the at-bat and
Nick Madrigal scored him with a double to right center to make it 3-3.
North Greenville opened the game up in the top of the 4
th, scoring 4 runs on 3 hits to take a 7-3 lead.
The Lions threatened in the bottom of the 5
th, with Madrid and Roesler picking up hits, but a pop up ended the at-bat without a run scoring.
The Lions got two runners on board in the bottom of the 6
th, but two strikeouts ended the at-bat.
In the top of the 7
th, the Trailblazers added to their lead, scoring 9 runs on 7 hits to take a 16-3 lead which would be the final score.
At the plate,
Jaden Madrid led the way going 2-3 with a run scored.
On the mound,
Hunter Pirkle got the start going 4.0 innings. He gave up 7 runs on 7 hits. He struck out 5 batters and walked 2.
Ethan Pooler relieved him to throw 2.0 innings. He gave up a hit and struck out 4 batters.
Matthew Delarber relieved him to face 6 batters, giving up 5 runs on 3 hits. He struck out a batter and walked one.
Griffin Morris closed the game, facing 6 batters. He gave up 4 runs on 4 hits.
GAME THREE
After a scoreless 1
st inning, the Lions got to work in the bottom of the 2
nd.
Matt Layton started things off with a single to centerfield. After
Tyler Bradford was hit by a pitch,
Aiden Malish homered to give the Lions a 3-0 lead.
Haidyn McGill kept things going with a single to 2
nd base and
Jaden Madrid got on base with a walk. A single by
Davis Roesler scored a run to put the Lions up 4-0. The next two batters were hit by a pitch, with a run scoring to make it 5-0 Lions.
The Trailblazers closed the gap in the top of the 3
rd, scoring 3 runs on 3 hits and an error to cut the Lions lead to 5-3.
In the top of the 5
th, North Greenville tied the game at 5-5, scoring 2 runs on 3 hits.
The Lions answered in the bottom of the 6
th. McGill walked to start off the at-bat, advancing to 3
rd on a wild pitch. McGill scored on a sacrifice fly to give the Lions a 6-5 lead.
The Trailblazers got two on board in the top of the 7
th, but
Zackary Easton struck out a batter to close out the at-bat with the Lions leading 6-5.
The Lions pulled ahead in the bottom of the 8
th. After a walk to McGill, Madrid singled to right field to advance McGill to 2
nd. A double by Roesler scored a run to give the Lions a 7-5 lead.
In the top of the 9
th, the Trailblazers tied the game, scoring 2 runs on 2 hits to make it 7-7. The Lions didn't back down, with
Alex Calabro reaching on a walk and
Dee Oliver reaching on an error.
Austin Bourrie reached on a fielder's choice, with Calabro getting thrown out at 3
rd, but
Stephen Clark came in clutch in the bottom of the 9
th with a single to score the go ahead run, giving the Lions the walk-off win, 8-7.
At the plate,
Davis Roesler went 2-3 with 3 RBIs.
Aiden Malish went 2-4 with 3 RBIs and a run scored.
On the mound,
Blake Altschuler got the nod going 4.1 innings. He gave up 5 runs on 7 hits, striking out 3 batters and walking 2.
Zackary Easton relieved him to throw 4.1 innings. He gave up 2 runs on 5 hits, striking out 7 batters and walking 2.
Joseph Rice earned the win, facing 2 batters and giving up a walk.
Next up, the Lions will compete in the Conference Carolinas Championship which begins on Wednesday in Gastonia, NC.
For more information on Emmanuel University athletics, visit goeulions.com.
